Hot off the press! “Mastering Mobile through Social Media: Creating Engaging Content on Instagram and Snapchat”

Greetings! I'm excited to announce my new report for the American Library Association's Library Technology Reports series: "Mastering Mobile through Social Media: Creating Engaging Content on Instagram and Snapchat." What I really dig about this work is that I had the opportunity to conduct a mini-case study during which I interviewed 11 standout library professionals …

Snapchat Explained: A 30 Minute Microlearning Event

Hello! I just wanted to announce another Snapchat workshop that I'll be teaching in September for ALA's eLearning series. This will consist of a 30 min online webinar where I'll show you the basics of Snapchat: how it works, how to set it up, and how your library can use it. This is perfect for …

6 Libraries to Follow on Snapchat for Some Snapspiration

In 2015 I wrote the post 5 Universities Killing it on Snapchat. Since then, I have seen a of bevy brands harnessing the app in really creative ways. Coming from a library background, I naturally follow several libraries on Snapchat (see Libraries on Snapchat: A Directory for a comprehensive list) and I have been really impressed …

New Session: Using Snapchat to Reach Library Patrons Workshop

Hello! I just wanted to send you all a quick note to let you know I'll be teaching a Snapchat workshop for the ALA's eLearning series. "Using Snapchat to Reach Library Patrons" will consist of two 90-minute sessions that will take place on Thursday, April 12, 2018 and Thursday, April 19, 2018 at 2:30pm Eastern. If …

Upcoming Workshop: Using Snapchat to Reach Library Patrons

Hello! I just wanted to send you all a quick note to let you know I'll be teaching a Snapchat workshop for the ALA's eLearning series. "Using Snapchat to Reach Library Patrons" will consist of two 90-minute sessions that will take place on August 24th and 31st at 1:30 Central. If you have any questions or …

Snapchat in the Library: Librarians Master an App to Reach Millennials- ALA Extended Article Version

Hello! I am very excited to announce my newest article that was published in ALA's magazine: Snapchat in the Library Librarians: Master an App to Reach Millennials! For this article I had the opportunity to interview a variety of amazing librarians who are leveraging this app to reach their patrons. Librarians from K-12, public libraries, and …

Libraries on Snapchat: A Directory

Hello! A lot of you have reached out asking for a list of libraries on Snapchat. Due to the fact that you can't search Snapchat the way you can other social media platforms, this task is a little tough. What I thought I'd do is create a crowdsourced directory. I have started a list of libraries …

ALA Ignite Session: Using Google Scholar to Teach Information Literacy

Hello! I rarely ever self-promote but I could really use your help. I just submitted my ALA ignite session: Using Google Scholar to Teach Information Literacy. In order to be able to present this talk I need to win votes. Here's how it breaks down: "the public votes will be weighted for 30% of the selection process; …

Incorporating Google Ads into Information Literacy Instruction

According to an article by The Verge's James Vincent, many teens can't tell the difference between ads and search results in Google. He reports that researchers at UK's telecoms watchdog Ofcom discovered that approximately only 33% of 12-15 year olds and 20% of children between the ages of 8-11 were able to tell the difference between …

5 Universities Killing It On Snapchat

I am becoming convinced that Snapchat should become a library social media staple. Being a "cusper" (on the tail end of the millennial generation) I might not be as in-tune with what's fresh in social as my younger counterparts, but the numbers don't lie. Smith, from DMR, reports that Snapchat not only touts 100 million …

Another Conference Organizer to Avoid: Global Academic Network

Here's a useful article by Jeffrey Beall, author of Scholarly Open Access, and expert on predatory journals and, apparently now, predatory conference organizers. You can read about my experience with a predatory journal in my previous post Beware of Predatory Journals.

Resources for Finding a Graduate Summer Research Position

I wrote this for the University of Denver's Office of Graduate Studies. I think it has some useful info to share with your graduate students. If you have any additional resources that should be included please let me know. 🙂 Resources for Finding a Graduate Summer Research Position

Promote Your Library Using Mark Zuckerburg’s Worldwide Book Club

Facebook's Mark Zuckerburg launched the New Year by announcing a challenge: "to read a new book every other week -- with an emphasis on learning about different cultures, beliefs, histories, and technologies." His announcement has currently garnered 119,199 likes and 5,502 comments.   Since then he has created a Facebook group entitled "A Year of …

Using Infographic Design to Make Common Core Connections

In a recent article in Phi Delta Kappan, Moeller discusses the use of visual thinking strategies to “strengthen students’ communication and critical thinking skills and creativity” (2013). Visual literacy, data visualization, and design thinking are buzzwords in the education rhetoric and are becoming more popular in the classroom partly because of the accessibility of visual …

Top 20 Library & Information Science Publications According to Google Metrics

Just wanted to let you all know that Google Scholar recently released their 2014 Metrics. Google lists the top 20 library science publications based on h5-index. Coming in at number one is the Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology with an h5-index of 56. The h5-index is the h-index for articles published in …

Promote Your Library With Snapchat Stories

This is probably the best way libraries can start implementing Snapchat for promotional purposes. According to an article published today by Business Insider, Snapchat Stories has increased 100% with over 1 billion stories being viewed a day! Since this app is so widely used by individuals under the age of 25 (traditional college aged students), it's a …

How to Create a Snapchat Contest

In the beginning of January I started hearing a lot of buzz about the privacy chat app Snapchat. From NPR to Mashable, everyone was discussing this new app. One fortuidious morning, during my daily Feedly perusal, I saw articles by both TechCrunch and Mashable reporting on a study that found that over 77% of college students use Snapchat every …

Graphene Valley: What This Super Material Is and How It Will Affect Libraries

Graphene! It’s the materials science buzz word you've most likely heard on repeat for the last few years. It's being touted as the "wonder material" that will revolutionize technology as we know it. It was isolated in 2004 by Nobel prize winning physicists  Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov, and since then scientists have been creating …

Top Libraries for Academic Libraries to Follow on Pinterest: Part Deux

I wrote the Top 10 Libraries for Academic Libraries to Follow on Pinterest back in 2013, but with so many new boards popping up I thought I'd add to the list (as a side note I noticed just about every library has either a Downton Abbey or cat-related board!). I used the same criteria: Post quality content …

Data Visualization: An Effective Way to Encourage Librarian/Faculty Collaboration

    In our digital environment big data rules. It's changing they way brands market to consumers, how programmers develop apps, the list goes on but it is all resulting in a significant shift to the digital landscape as we know it. One way researchers are capitalizing on this trend is by using data visualization to depict …